Two kayakers paddling off Redondo Beach, south of Los Angeles, got the thrill of a lifetime recently — the kind that most of us will never experience. They met a blue whale[2], the largest creature on Earth.

The 50-foot cetacean came within arm’s reach of the small kayak. But, not content with this closest of encounters, Rick Coleman, one of the kayakers, plunged into the water for a face-to-face session with the whale — all the while keeping his video camera running. Of course, that video[3] soon appeared on YouTube and the inevitable interviews on TV news shows followed.

Taking chances for the camera’s lens

Wanting to have close encounters with animals — and capturing those moments for posterity — isn’t new, of course. As long as I can remember — and some say going back to the 1940s — there has been an urban myth circulating about the camera-crazy parent at Yellowstone National Park[7]. The story goes that this mom or dad smeared honey (or peanut butter or any of a number of different spreads, depending on the version you hear) on his or her child so that a “cute” picture of a bear licking the youngster could be snapped. Although this particular story has never been proven, myths are usually somewhat rooted in reality.

But in the last few years, the soaring popularity of reality TV shows and social media sites has really upped the capturing-dangerous-wildlife-encounters ante to a whole new level.

Not long ago, in 2006, television’s famous “Crocodile Hunter” Steve Irwin[8] died when he got too close to a stingray while shooting what would have been a new TV show about the Great Barrier Reef. Irwin’s heart was pierced by the animal’s serrated, poisonous spine as he swam with it while the cameras were rolling. At the time, a witness to the filming said that Irwin was taped pulling the barb from his chest moments before losing consciousness forever. Would Irwin have attempted swimming so close to that stingray if it weren’t for the cameras and the TV show? Of course, the show was never aired. Queensland state police secured the video as evidence for the coroner’s inquiry.

False bravery

As recently as two years ago, a woman who wanted a “closer look” at a bison[9] in Yellowstone National Park[10] started stalking toward it — getting far too close per park regulations — while operating her video camera. The bison charged. The video was posted on YouTube.

As long as a decade ago, in the waters of southeast Alaska[12] and Prince William Sound, the National Marine Fisheries Service had to issue mandatory regulations requiring that people stay at least 100 yards away from humpback whales[13]. A growing number of people on tour and recreational boats were throwing objects or food at Steller sea lions[14] and harbor seals in order to produce some sort of reaction that they could photograph.